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Pope to families: Live the Joy of Faith!

26/10/2013

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(Vatican Radio) Speaking on Saturday evening in St. Peter's Square to thousands of
families gathered to celebrate a weekend Family Pilgrimage to the Tomb of St. Peter,
Pope Francis invited all generations to come together and live the joy of Faith.

After
having listened to the experiences and the stories those present had shared with him,
the Pope said: “I have seen so many children, so many grandparents… I have felt the
pain of families living in situations of poverty and war. I have listened to the
young people who want to be married even though they face numerous difficulties.
And so, let us ask ourselves: how is it possible to live the joy which comes from
faith, in the family, today?”

He continued his address reflecting on a passage
in the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus says: “Come to me, all who labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest” and pointed out that life can often be wearisome.
Work is tiring – he said - looking for work is exhausting. But what is most burdensome
in life is a lack of love. Without love – Pope Francis said - the burden becomes
even heavier.

And turning his thoughts to elderly people living alone, and
to families who receive no help in caring for someone at home with special needs,
the Pope said the Lord knows our struggles and the burdens we have in our lives.
But he also knows our great desire to find joy and rest!

Pope Francis went
on to reflect on marriage which he described as life-long journey “Setting out and
walking together, hand in hand, putting yourselves in the Lord’s powerful hands”.

The
Pope said that with trust in God’s faithfulness, everything can be faced responsibly
and without fear. He said that notwithstanding the many difficulties faced by spouses
today, Christians are not afraid to be responsible, “they do not shirk the mission
of forming a family and bringing children into the world”.

And reflecting on
the icon of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple, Pope Francis noted that it depicts
three generations that come together fulfilling a single design: the elderly persons
represent faith as memory; Mary and Joseph are the family, sanctified by the presence
of Jesus who is the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Like the Holy Family of Nazareth
– the Pope said - "every family is part of the history of a people; it cannot exist
without the generations who have gone before it".

Pope Francis concluded his
address reassuring all families that they too, are a part of God’s people, and with
the help of Christ’s grace, he urged them to live the joy of faith.

Please
find below the full text of Pope Francis's address.

Dear Families!

Good
evening and welcome to Rome!

You have come as pilgrims from many parts
of the world to profess your faith before the tomb of Saint Peter. This Square welcomes
you and embraces you: we are one people, with one heart and soul, gathered by the
Lord who loves and sustains us. I also greet the families who have joined us through
television and the internet: this Square has expanded in every direction! You
have given this meeting a title: “Family, Live the Joy of Faith!” I like that title.
I have listened to your experiences and the stories you have shared. I have seen
so many children, so many grandparents… I have felt the pain of families living in
situations of poverty and war. I have listened to the young people who want to be
married even though they face numerous difficulties. And so, let us ask ourselves:
how is it possible to live the joy which comes from faith, in the family, today?

1. A
saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew speaks to us: “Come to me, all who labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Life is often wearisome.
Work is tiring; looking for work is exhausting. But what is most burdensome in life
is a lack of love. It weighs upon us never to receive a smile, not to be welcomed.
Certain silences are oppressive, even at times within families, between husbands and
wives, between parents and children, among siblings. Without love, the burden becomes
even heavier. I think of elderly people living alone, and families who receive no
help in caring for someone at home with special needs. “Come to me, all who labour
and are heavy laden”, Jesus says.

Dear families, the Lord knows our struggles
and the burdens we have in our lives. But he also knows our great desire to find
joy and rest! Do you remember? Jesus said, “… that your joy may be complete” (cf.
Jn 15:11). He said this to the apostles and today he says it to us. Here, then,
is the first thing I would like to share with you this evening, and it is a saying
of Jesus: Come to me, families from around the world, and I will give you rest, so
that your joy may be complete.

2. The second thing which I would share
with you is an expression taken from the Rite of Marriage. Those who celebrate the
sacrament say, “I promise to be true to you, in joy and in sadness, in sickness and
in health; I will love you and honour you all the days of my life”. At that moment,
the couple does not know what joys and pains await them. They are setting out, like
Abraham, on a journey together. That is what marriage is! Setting out and walking
together, hand in hand, putting yourselves in the Lord’s powerful hands.

With
trust in God’s faithfulness, everything can be faced responsibly and without fear.
Christian spouses are not naïve; they know life’s problems and temptations. But they
are not afraid to be responsible before God and before society. They do not run away,
they do not hide, they do not shirk the mission of forming a family and bringing children
into the world. But today, Father, it is difficult… Of course it is difficult!
That is why we need the grace of the sacrament! The sacraments are not decorations
in life; the sacrament of marriage is not a pretty ceremony! Christians celebrate
the sacrament of marriage because they know they need it! They need it to stay together
and to carry out their mission as parents. “In joy and in sadness, in sickness and
in health”. And in their marriage they pray with one another and with the community.
Why? Only because it is helpful to do so? No! They do so because they need to,
for the long journey they are making together. They need Jesus’ help to walk beside
one another in trust, to accept one another each day, and daily to forgive one another.

The
life of a family is filled with beautiful moments: rest, meals together, walks in
the park or the countryside, visits to grandparents or to a sick person… But if love
is missing, joy is missing, nothing is fun. Jesus gives always gives us that love:
he is its endless source and he gives himself to us in the Eucharist. There he gives
us his word and the bread of life, so that our joy may be complete.

3. Here
before us is the icon of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple. It is a beautiful and
meaningful picture. Let us contemplate it and let it help us. Like all of you, the
persons depicted in this scene have a journey to make: Mary and Joseph have travelled
as pilgrims to Jerusalem in obedience to the Law of the Lord; the aged Simeon and
the elderly prophetess Anna have come to the Temple led by the Holy Spirit. In this
scene three generations come together: Simeon holds in his arms the child Jesus, in
whom he recognizes the Messiah, while Anna is shown praising God and proclaiming salvation
to those awaiting the redemption of Israel. These two elderly persons represent faith
as memory. Mary and Joseph are the family, sanctified by the presence of Jesus who
is the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Like the Holy Family of Nazareth, every
family is part of the history of a people; it cannot exist without the generations
who have gone before it.

Dear families, you, too, are a part of God’s
people. Walk joyfully in the midst of this people. Remain ever close to Jesus and
carry him to everyone by your witness. I thank you for having come here. Together,
let us make our own the words of Saint Peter, words which strengthen us and which
will confirm us in times of trial: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words
of everlasting life” (Jn 6:68). With the help of Christ’s grace, live the joy of
faith! May the Lord bless you, and may Mary, our Mother, be ever at your side.